Watchcases



United States Patent Int. c1.G04b 37/04 US. Cl. 58-94 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A watchcase has a back in which is adapted to be located a movement box or mounting ring having a marginal portion shaped to engage a part of said back and be correctly positioned thereby without having to solder said box to the watch back.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to watchcases and more particularly, although not exclusively, to watch cases made of precious metal, e.g. gold, and wherein the watch movement is mounted in a movement box which is secured to the back of the watchcase. Up to now it has been usual to solder the movement box to the back of the watch casing, and when the latter is made of gold it is necessary to make the movement box of gold and also to use gold solder in order to achieve the required bond between the parts.

The object of the present invention is to provide a watch construction which avoids the necessity of having to solder the movement box to the back of the watchcase, thereby making it unnecessary to make the movement box of gold in order to render possible the soldering of the latter to a gold watchcase back. In this manner the movement box can be made of a non-precious metal and the use of expensive gold solder is also avoided, thereby resulting in a considerable saving in the cost of making the watchcase and the movement box therefor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a watchcase which comprises a back formed circumferentially with an external shoulder or step, against which can be abutted the circumferential edge of a watch front, and a movement mounting ring supported within said back and comprising a marginal portion which engages and is located in position against the rim of the circumferential wall of the mouth of the back adjacent to the shoulder against which the watch front is abutted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross section taken through one half of a watch.

FIG. '2 is a similar view showing a different arrangement of mounting the glass, and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, but illustrating a further modification.

3,517,502 Patented June 30, 1970 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring firstly to FIGS. 1 and 2 of said drawings, the watchcase comprises a back 1 formed circumferentially with an external shoulder 2 of a circumferential rim 3', the latter being of slightly smaller diameter than the circumferential wall of the back 1 having the shoulder 2.

The front of the watchcase is indicated at 4 and comprises a circumferential wall 411, the edge of which seats on said shoulder 2 of the back 1 of the watch. The front 4 is formed with a front portion 4b terminating in a forwardly directed circumferential rib 4c, and this watch front 4 is fitted with a glass 5 formed with a circumferential ledge 5a, over which the front of the watch case fits, so as to retain the glass 5 captive.

The watch movement 6 with its dial 10 is supported by a mounting box or ring 8 comprising a marginal portion 7 which seats around its outer edge 7a upon the circumferential rim portion 3 of the Watch back. The movement 6 is fitted and secured in the mounting ring 8 by easing screws.

The arrangement is such that when the watch is assembled, the mounting ring 8 is located in position and prevented from moving by reason of the fact that it is urged against the edge of said rim 3 of the watch back by said circumferential portion 5a of the glass, a gasket 9 being provided between the glass and the mounting ring 8.

FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative way in which the glass 5 may be fitted, and with this arrangement it will be noted that the front of the watchcase at the junction of the portions 4a and 4b holds the edge 7a of the marginal portion 7 against the edge of the rim 3, and not the glass 5.

Referring lastly to FIG. 3, this arrangement is very similar to that illustrated by FIGS. 1 and 2 except that the marginal portion of the mounting ring 8 abuts against the inner face of the circumferential rim portion 3 of the watch back 1 instead of against the edge thereof. The advantage of this embodiment over those illustrated by FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the mounting ring can be fitted in the watch back and held retained against unintentional movement pending assembly of the watch back and front, whereas with the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a slight floating movement of the mounting ring is possible. As shown, the marginal portion 7 of the mounting ring 8 may be a U-shape in section so as to provide a base part 71) which can be abutted against the inner face of the watch back 1 and a circumferential flange 7c which engages the inner face of the circumferential rim portion 3 of the watch 'back. The mounting ring 8 and its marginal portion 7 may be made so as to be a comfortably tight fit in the watch back, or this may be achieved by making the marginal portion 7 resilient so that the U-shaped portion will yield when the mounting ring is fitted in the watch back, thereby causing this part 7c to press tightly against said rim 3.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the object of the invention is achieved, because the mounting ring 8 does not have to be soldered in position and, as

soldering is avoided, the ring 8 need not necessarily be of precious metal, e.g. gold, but can be made of a non-precious metal so that the cost of the watch is reduced correspondingly.

I claim: References Cited 1. A watchcase comprising a back formed circumferen- UNITED STATES PATENTS tially with an external shoulder against which can be abutted the circumferential edge of a watch front, and a 24466O3 8/1948 Morf' 2,621,468 12/1952 Colomb. mounting ring supported within said back and having a 5 2,712,216 7/1955 Bauer. marginal portion which engages and is located in position FOREIGN PATENTS against the rim of the circumferential wall of the mouth of 205 230 the back adjacent to said shoulder, said marginal portion 6 6/1956 Austraha' f said mounting ring being U-shape in section so as to 6 2/1967 a 10 341,443 11/1959 Switzerland. form a base portion abuttlng agamst the mner face of said back and a circumferential flange which abuts against said RICHARD WILKINSON, Primary Examine! rim. G. H. MILLER, JR., Assistant Examiner 

